EDINBURG, Texas – The UT Arlington women's basketball team (8-9, 4-3 WAC) was defeated 64-62 by UT Rio Grande Valley (3-13, 2-5 WAC) inside the UTRGV Fieldhouse on Thursday night.
 
The Vaqueros were a solid 24-for-30 from the free throw line while the Lady Mavs were 13-for-22 from the charity stripe, which ended up being the deciding factor of the game. With the loss, UTA's 7-game win streak was snapped.
 
Gia Adams led the way for the Lady Mavs, dropping a season-high 21 points on 7-of-16 from the floor, 3-of-8 from deep and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Adams also had one assist in 35 minutes of action.
 
Adela Valkova continued her solid play, scoring 14 points, her eighth straight game with double figures. She shot 58-percent from the field while grabbing eight boards in 31 minutes of play.
 
In 32 minutes of action, Taliyah Clark scored 11 points, hitting two three-pointers, and going 5-for-6 from the charity stripe. Clark pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds while dishing out one assist, garnering one block and two steals.
 
In addition to those performances, Avery Brittingham added six rebounds, five assists and two points in 23 minutes. Nya Threatt added five points, two rebounds and one steal in 22 minutes. Hannah Humphrey hit two three-pointers to finish with six points.
 
The stat sheet looked identical in the first half, with both teams going 5-for-14 from the field and 2-of-6 from deep. The only difference being UTRGV hit all three of their free throws while UTA went 1-of-2 from the line to head into the second quarter down 15-13.
 
The Vaqueros largest lead of the game was nine points, which came with 1:33 left in the second. The Lady Mavs were able to chip away, ending the half on a 6-0 run to head to the locker room down three, 30-27.
 
Entering the third, UTA managed to keep their scoring run up, going on a 5-0 run to begin the quarter, an 11-0 run dating back to the second, to regain the lead 32-30 before UTRGV scored again. The third would end with the Vaqueros up four, 49-45.
 
UTA had their chances in the fourth, tying the game up at 54 apiece with 3:11 left in the game, before an Arianna Sturdivant three-pointer put the Vaqueros up three with 2:34 left, a lead they would not relinquish. 
 
Despite shooting a better percentage from the floor and from beyond the arc, the Lady Mavs could not overcome their 59-percent from the charity stripe. It was a back and fourth game with six ties and seven different lead changes.
 
NEXT UP
The Lady Mavs return home this Saturday, Jan. 20, as they host Abilene Christian inside the College Park Center. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m.
   
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